Secret lives of IttyBittyFoodies bloggers

Quiches and croissants at new coffee house Summer Moon in Plano – photo by IttyBittyFoodies.com

What do bloggers do? I get asked all the time from people who imagines a wild and glamorous life. So in this post, we open up our personal lives to our readers and show you a glimpse of being IttyBittyFoodies bloggers.

THE “GLAMOROUS” STUFF

We love to eat so much and can find something for kids in most restaurants. . ZATAR pancakes – photo by IttyBittyFoodies

Let’s start with the stuff you see on our social media. Lots of food and travel pictures right? We do eat out quite a bit. Actually A LOT. It’s our little obsession. It’s one of the reasons why I started IttyBittyFoodies.

The reality behind the photos is lukewarm food. Every time we go out, our kids are afraid to start eating until I’ve finished taking photos. They know not to mess a hotel room unless I got all the photography done. So there’s a lot of ‘waiting for Mama until she’s ready’. This makes me feel a little guilty they understand that this is part of my job.

NO NEED FOR FOMO PLEASE

All picture perfect except I was in Houston for cancer treatment. Please don’t get FOMO!

I don’t have any extraordinary powers to eat at restaurants before they open. I freelance for publications like Dallas Morning News, CultureMap and VisitDFW so we do get media previews of new restaurants which I also post on our IttyBittyFoodies social media. This week included a sneak peak of JadeWaters at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.

Lastly I wanted to add that don’t believe everything you see on social media. Although my posts are all authentic, it doesn’t tell you the whole story. I remembered last year as I was at MD Anderson in Houston going through cancer treatment. Most people thought I was on a road trip to Houston because of all the lovely food pictures I posted. I did go to all those places to eat, but there were also other factors going on in the background. So please don’t get FOMO when you see other people’s pics on social media.

PARTNERING WITH BRANDS

This past week, Toyotalet us test-drive their Highlander for a week. Such fortuitous timing as Toyota moved their headquarters to Plano at the same time. When Toyota asked if we would be interested, we said “of course!” We did not get paid for it and as always we only accept invitations that fits the IttyBittyFoodies lifestyle brand.

The Toyota Highlander is very intuitive and easy to navigate

The 8-seater Highlander fit not just our boys but a few extras for play dates. I loved that it was a hybrid car which makes it more environmentally friendly as well as fuel efficient since SUV are such gas guzzlers. The last thing I look for in a car is safety especially since I’m so tiny, I need all the help I can get. The Toyota Safety Sense helped me detect pedestrians and cars close to me. And with all the downpours of rain lately, the anti-lock brake system and traction control came in handy. For us, a car needs to be reliable, drives easily and safe. It doesn’t need to be at the forefront of our lives but it needs to be dependent upon. So check out our week in a short movie I made of our week and subscribe as we do more videos for future posts.

OUR LIVES LOOK A LOT LIKE YOURS

In truth, our week looks a lot like most other families. We do school runs, take our kids to sports, go to birthday parties and do ordinary things like groceries. This week included a trip to the doctor’s, going to my Pikelet’s science fair and seeing him receive a ribbon from DUKE TIP. And we ended the week on a high at newly renovated, Adolphus Hotel.

Carline anyone? Zipping around Dallas with Toyota this week. Photo by IttyBittyFoodies

If I have a research assignment — like the one I’m doing on ice cream right now — I take the kids along with me while I work which sometimes includes eating the props. I spend a lot of time writing posts and articles and sometimes miss out on our children’s game or two because of deadlines. It’s like any other job except we get some extra delicious perks. Keeping it real for you!

Staycation time to kick off the summer – Photo by IttyBittyFoodies

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed our “Week in the Life of IttyBittyFoodies” video – I’d love to hear some comments. Follow ITTYBITTYFOODIES onInstagram if you want to see what we do and where we eat. Our InstaStories are much more candid (mostly silly – lol) so please subscribe. Thank you TOYOTA for lending us the Highlander and being there for all the great moments during our week. It was a great way to the school year and kick off summer!

About Post Author

Cheryl Collett is a freelance journalist writing about food, travel, beauty and fashion. She is the author of Itty Bitty Foodies, a kid food & lifestyle blog geared towards modern parents who love to cook at home, eat out regularly, travel as a family and have a love for learning and adventure.

About Itty Bitty Foodies

G'day! Welcome to Itty Bitty Foodies, a kid food and lifestyle blog. I'm Cheryl Collett, an Aussie writer living the US with a mission to expand the palates of my 3 active boys. Hop along as we embark on our yummy adventures together! [Read More]